The Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has warned of the existence of several phishing websites being promoted through Facebook Messenger accounts to spread various types of malware.
CERRT warned in an advisory it released recently that the illegitimate Facebook accounts pose as official ChatGPT pages and publish links that lead users to phishing websites that look like ChatGPT websites.
“These websites trick users into downloading malicious files or software onto their machines,” the advisory disclosed.
According to the CERRT Advisory, “When an unsuspecting user clicks on a link on the Facebook page, it directs the user to a phishing website that features a number of malware that are masquerading as ChatGPT and its variants.
“If a user downloads any of the proposed software that contains potentially harmful executable files, the user’s device is susceptible to theft of sensitive data like call logs, contacts list, SMS, media files and others.”
CERRT, therefore, listed some preventive measures that could be taken against these threats including the following:
- Be wary of clicking on links you are unsure of.
- Avoid downloading files or Apps from unknown websites.
- Ensure your devices, applications, and operating systems are updated.
- Download and install apps only from Google Play Store, 10S App Store, or other trusted sources.
- Install Anti-virus or Anti-malware on your devices.
The Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) is a unit of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) established in April 2014 in response to the increase in the rate of cybercrime and in fulfilment of the requirements of the National Cybersecurity Strategy.
By NITDA’s mandate, CERRT functions as a government cert, coordinating and facilitating information sharing, providing mitigation strategies and recommendations for incident response and recovery, researching and analyzing trends and patterns of incident activity for government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with extension to the private sector as well.